Partnerships
for Ohio River Mussels

by
Richard Neves

At the
turn of the century, the Ohio River basin was home to 127 of the 297
freshwater mussel species native to North America. Since that time,
however, human changes in the environment have taken their toll; 11
mussel species are extinct, and 46 others are classified as endangered
or species of concern. Now there is a new threat to these already distressed
mollusks--the zebra mussel. The spread of this non-native species, the
worst pest to invade the waterways of North America, puts native mussels
in the entire Ohio River at great risk. The lower Ohio River downstream
of Louisville, Kentucky, already is heavily infested. Zebra mussels
severely encrust most native mussels in this area.

FANSHELL
MUSSEL: federally endangered but still present in Ohio River system.

Among the
approximately 35 native mussels in the lower Ohio River are 5 endangered
species: the pink mucket (Lampsilis abrupta), orangefoot pimpleback
(Plethobasus cooperianus), fat pocketbook (Potamilus capax),
clubshell (Pleurobema curtum), and fanshell (Cyprogenia stegaria).
The Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) Ohio River Valley Ecosystem Team
has identified mussels as one of its highest resource priorities. A
subgroup of the team helped create new partnerships in 1995 among the
FWS, nine States, and numerous private cooperators, and developed a
plan that identifies immediate and long-term actions needed to achieve
mussel conservation goals.

Members
of the ecosystem team conducted field work at eight Ohio River sites
in 1995. Zebra mussel densities ranged from 4 per square meter (1.2
square yard) at the upstream station to almost 4,000 per square meter
at downstream sites. Mortality of native mussels was as high as 73 percent.
The prognosis is for continued high mortality in 1996 and 1997 if zebra
mussel densities continue at current levels.

A group
of concerned State and Federal biologists began a mussel salvage operation
in the summer of 1995. With support from West Virginia, Kentucky, and
Ohio, and assistance from the FWS and National Biological Service (NBS),
two teams of State and Federal divers led by Janet Clayton (West Virginia
Department of Natural Resources) and Patty Morrison (Ohio River Islands
National Wildlife Refuge) began collecting animals from the West Virginia
portion of the Ohio River, where zebra mussel densities are now low.
They collected about 3,000 native mussels of numerous species, including
one pink mucket, and brought them ashore to an assembly line of biologists
and volunteers participating in the rescue effort. The mussels were
scrubbed to remove zebra mussels and debris, marked with numbered tags,
measured and logged into the record book, and transported to a quarantine
facility at the refuge. Refuge personnel volunteered space in a barn
for large tanks where the mussels were monitored for 30 days to be sure
they were free of zebra mussels. Following quarantine, the 3,000 native
mussels were transported to two locations in West Virginia: the NBS
Leetown Science Center and the White Sulphur Springs National Fish Hatchery.

Those being
held in 4 ponds at Leetown are part of a cooperative NBS-funded research
project involving Virginia Tech (Drs. Bruce Parker and Richard Neves)
and NBS staff. Ph.D. student Catherine Gatenby from Virginia Tech, who
coordinated and supervised all phases of the collection and quarantine
program, will evaluate the survival and growth of these mussels. They
are being held in suspended pocket nets, used in the Japanese pearl
culture industry, and in cafeteria-style glass racks on the pond bottom.
Previous studies by the Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research
Unit at Virginia Tech confirmed the suitability of ponds for holding
riverine mussels. Another objective of the research is to determine
whether these mussels will spawn and produce juvenile mussels for the
recovery of species that are vulnerable to zebra mussels. The third
objective of Gatenby's research will be to develop suitable algal diets
for rearing juvenile mussels in captivity. NBS biologists at Leetown
are monitoring the condition of these animals, and survival has been
greater than 95 percent.

The native
mussels being held at White Sulphur Springs also will be monitored for
reproductive success. Part of the research is an experimental project
that involves using the host fish that mussel larvae parasitize to produce
metamorphosed juveniles, which will be raised in outdoor facilities.
The mussels are being held in glass racks at the bottom of a fenced
pond. This research will not effect trout production at the hatchery.

During
the summer of 1995, Kari Duncan, Acting Hatchery Manager at White Sulphur
Springs, recruited another partner into this cooperative research effort.
Chi Chi's Restaurants, Inc., has donated surplus glassware storage racks
to the cause. Racks that once held margarita glasses are now serving
as condominiums for pink heelsplitters and elephant ear mussels. Dr.
Parker also has secured the assistance of the Martek BioSciences Corporation
in Columbia, Maryland, and Omega Tech of Boulder, Colorado, to donate
algal species for testing as possible food for the native mussels. In
addition to these corporate sponsors, many volunteers of all ages have
assisted with the collection, quarantine, and transportation of native
mussels to their new homes in the West Virginia ponds.

The freshwater
mussel subgroup also has focused on public education to highlight the
value of Ohio River resources that could be lost, not only from zebra
mussels but other impacts to the river basin. With an outreach plan
in preparation, the team has funded a native mussel display at an Ohio
museum, has initiated conservation lectures to groups throughout the
Ohio River basin, and is planning a zebra mussel fact sheet for boaters.
Without an ecosystem approach to resource management in the Ohio River
basin, most of these initiatives and partnerships would not have been
possible. This project exemplifies the cooperative spirit that can be
mustered for wildlife conservation, even for invertebrates like freshwater
mussels.

Dr. Neves
is Chief of the Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia.